Local News

HILLSVILLE — It’s probably no coincidence that Pulaski County’s recreational park and pool has nationally known restaurants and a big box store that located nearby, a supporter of a new pool told Carroll County supervisors Monday evening.
Those businesses in Dublin came along after the county created Randolph Park, noted Lisa Payne Delp. It’s likely that the pool and its 51,000 visitors led to growth and jobs in that locality.

At an annual political event on Saturday, political candidates got an earful of mountain music and local issues.
The somewhat ironically named Poor Man’s Dinner — it reflects the humble Southern fare on the menu, not the financial status of the attendees — is an annual tradition during Galax’s annual Old Fiddlers’ Convention.
Over 350 politicians from all over Virginia, political candidates and community leaders from attended the picnic in Felts Park on Saturday, sponsored by the Twin County Regional Chamber of Commerce.

INDEPENDENCE — Grayson County will delay its next reassessment to defer some of the costs, at a time when real estate values remain steady.
County Administrator Jonathan Sweet spoke briefly about the recommendation during the board’s regular meeting Aug. 9.
Sweet said supervisors did an exceptional job of deferring expenses during the 2012-13 budget preparation process.
One of the by-products of the discussion of deferring costs is a plan to change the county’s reassessment schedule.

A North Carolina man was found dead inside a car at a Blue Ridge Parkway overlook on Aug. 3, the same day the vehicle was reported stolen.
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Department reports that a witness saw the car parked at the Sugarloaf Overlook, near parkway milepost 204, for several hours. The witness found that suspicious, and called police.
Carroll Sheriff J.B. Gardner said that when deputies responded, they found the body of Michael Jackson Willard, 43, of Mount Airy, N.C., in the car.

HILLSVILLE — Criminals always leave something behind at the scene, and it’s up to the police to find it.
That’s been Hillsville Police Department’s Sgt. James Alderman philosophy over the years. If he takes his time at a crime scene and “walks the grid,” examining the place carefully, the town investigator can spot the essential clues.

More than a month after a windstorm caused record power outages, Appalachian Power Co. has put a price tag on restoring electricity to its Virginia customers — $37 million.
It’s still too soon to say whether the costs of repairing downed power lines will be passed on to customers in the form of a rate increase, a spokesman for the utility said this week.

A fact-finding mission by Carroll County officials to Randolph Park’s pool found the recreational facility well planned and popular.
Various representatives of Carroll, including Board of Supervisors Chairman Sam Dickson and Recreation Director Sam McLendon, recently explored the park in Pulaski County to gauge how the pool works.
The visit came as enthusiasm builds among Carroll County citizens for a similar recreational effort close to home.

A Grayson County man died in a single-vehicle wreck when his pickup truck hit a tree near Elk Creek on Aug. 3.
Allen Wayne Brown, 44, of Elk Creek, lost control of his 2006 Chevrolet Silverado extended-cab pickup and ran off the right side of Comers Rock Road about 11 p.m. on Aug. 3. The driver overcorrected, crossed both lanes and struck a tree head-on.
Brown was not wearing a seat belt and was partially ejected from the vehicle, according to Virginia State Trooper Jerry Sowers.

RICHMOND — Gov. Bob McDonnell last month signed legislation intended to protect the property rights of Virginia citizens.
House Bill 5 and its companion Senate Bill 240 provide for a referendum for a constitutional amendment to protect private property rights on the Nov. 6, 2012 ballot.
Two other property rights bills signed by McDonnell, HB1035 and SB437, provide clear definitions for the terms “lost profits” and “lost access” and how to determine the amount of just compensation.